I did a video about TRON RUN/r (formerly TRON Escape), which goes into the rumors and events leading up to the title's release, and a few details about the game itself that you probably won't find anywhere else.

If you'd also like to read more about the events leading up to the release of TRON RUN/r, and take a look at some concept art and screenshots, check out the previous TRON Escape article.

TRON RUN/r video about rumors, speculation, and some facts

January 27th, 2016 UPDATE: The full version of the game is being released on February 16th, 2016. Find out more in this article.

UPDATE:The game was not cancelled. Instead, the "leaked" concept art and screenshots were part of a marketing stunt. But the game is now called TRON RUN/r instead of TRON Escape, and is currently only available as a Steam Early Access title. More details about it can be read in this article.

So I’ve been seeing some images floating around lately, in various places. I sourced (what appears to be the complete set of) them from this tumblr page: http://abandonedproducts.tumblr.com/

The first time I saw one of these, I thought maybe it was TRON Evolution concept art. But now  unless these are fake  I’m thinking they may be concept art for the TRON Escape game that was rumored about, months ago.

These leaked images, sadly, lead me to conclude that TRON Escape is probably dead. (Also, the name of the tumblr page these came from is "abandoned products" which could be taken as another hint.) Otherwise, these images would not be leaking out. (Again, provided they aren’t fake.) The development and release of a new game very likely hinged on a new film being released as well.

November 22nd, 2015 UPDATE 1: Two more concept art images have been added. A friend of mine on Steam (MAK777) suggested that these concepts indicate the title was going to be an infinite runner style of game, and I tend to agree with that assessment. The game's "TRON Escape" moniker would also lend weight to that idea.

I've always believed that the rumored new TRON game would be a budget title, rather than a big AAA release, and an infinite runner would fit that category. It was supposed to be released on PC, PS4, and XB1, but a lower-budget simplistic style of game could easily be ported to mobile platforms as well, and was probably the impetus behind this kind of gameplay design. Again, provided all of these images aren't fake.

Too bad Disney didn't seem to learn from TRON Evolution, because it was exactly the parkour/running/on-rails sections of that game that players have stated they enjoyed the least. (Phrases like "Prince of Persia clone" were bandied about frequently.) But, Disney probably weren't too concerned if this was meant to be a simpler, budget title.

November 24th, 2015 UPDATE: The pages that were the sources of this concept art and the screenshots, have been deleted. Reinforcing the conclusion that these are indeed leaked TRON Escape pre-production materials. (If they're fakes, then they're awfully good ones.) I'll leave the links to these pages in place, even though they are now devoid of content.

November 26th, 2015 UPDATE: It seems our source is back, with 3 more screenshots.

December 3rd, 2015 UPDATE 1: Our source has returned again, this time with 9 additional screenshots.

It seems plausible, judging from all of the shots released so far, that TRON Escape was cancelled at a fairly early stage. Since the geometry and texturing in the environments of certain shots appear to be incomplete. Also, the other page (from the same source) that some of the screenshots came from was named "post-proto". In other words, suggesting it was post-prototype (aka demo) or "vertical slice". But still not complete.

December 3rd, 2015 UPDATE 2:IGN has posted an article regarding these concept images, and linked to my article here on this site. The author provides additional speculation as to what the images could be, and his article also includes one new image I've never seen before. (I hope he doesn't mind my including it here.)

While the author provides other potential explanations as to what the images could represent, this latest screenshot more or less helps support the conclusion that they've all come from TRON Escape. (Hint: Look at the title in the window title bar.)

Note the "October 16 2015" build date in the screenshot. If TRON Escape has been cancelled, then it happened pretty recently.

December 3rd, 2015 UPDATE 3: After taking the time to scrutinize IGN's article, I've noticed some interesting details.

The article mentions sound assets. Interesting. I haven't come across any yet. No one has.

The previous point, new screenshot, and the higher quality versions of existing screenshots in the article, suggest IGN has been in contact with the leaker. Or, at least, the author of the article has better Google search skills than I do.

Also curious is the "Advertisement by ENCOM International" subheading on IGN's article, and the disclaimer at the bottom stating that it's part of a "special advertising section". Does IGN know something we don't? Does this mean TRON Escape isn't cancelled? And these leaks are part of an elaborate marketing stunt ahead of the 2015 Game Awards show?

December 3rd, 2015 UPDATE 4: All of these TRON Escape "leaks" were apparently a marketing stunt. A preview of the game was on the 2015 Game Awards show. Only now, it's called TRON Run/r. I suspected as much when the IGN article had a "special advertising section" disclaimer attached to it.

December 4th, 2015 UPDATE: Adding some additional speculation, here. I wonder if TRON Run/r was indeed almost cancelled. Or else why release it as an Early Access title on Steam? Might this have been the only way to save it? Release the game unfinished, and see if the interest is out there, to convince Disney execs to allow development to continue?

A petition to try and save TRON 3 from cancellation has been created by fan Lucas Lowman, which has gathered just over 44,000 signatures at the time of writing this. I believe the petition will be mailed by post to Disney, when it reaches 50,000 signatures.

As a prelude to mailing in that petition, a letter writing campaign is underway and asking for every TRON fan's help over at the site SaveTRON3.com created by fan Joey Hanson. It asks everyone to send letters on August 29th, 2015 to certain executives at Disney, who hold the responsibility for making decisions as to which of their films are greenlit.

If you don't want to write a letter yourself, prepared letters can be downloaded from here and printed, for you to sign. The names and addresses to write to are on the SaveTRON3.com site, but I'll repeat them here.

At the same time, fans are being asked to include blue glow sticks with their letters, as a symbol of their desire to see another TRON sequel. Glow sticks can be obtained at most party and novelty stores for about a dollar. The idea is to create a bit of a "nuisance" that makes your letter more difficult to ignore.

But the importance of writing to more than one person at Disney cannot be overstated. Even with the glowsticks, writing to only one individual means there's a chance your letter can end up in a wastebin, unread and ignored.

By writing to several people at Disney, the chance of internal discussion about the letters is greatly increased. This advice was given to me by someone who was an employee at Disney, and when I sent in a petition on the 25th Anniversary of TRON, I followed the same advice. It seemed to have some measure of success, because I heard through the grapevine that it had a minor influence on Disney's attitude toward greenlighting TRON Legacy.

So if you'd like to see a TRON 3, seize this opportunity, and write those letters. Petitions and letter writing campaigns can work, if the numbers are high enough and these efforts receive media attention.

Thanks to Lucas, Joey, and all the fans who help to keep TRON alive.

TRON Lives!

August 30th, 2015 UPDATE: Below is a photo of the letters and glow sticks I sent, attempting to now save TRON for the second time.

I'll update this article if I find out any more details. I speculated on what the game would be like in a previous article, but it's looking as if this game might be somewhat different than expected. There's also a slim chance the game might have been canceled, and its appearance in the Brazilian database is merely a formality. But, I very much doubt that.

A new TRON-themed roller coaster ride is apparently coming to Shanghai Disneyland in China. The entire park is still under construction, and won't open until some time in 2016.

Concept art of TRON roller coaster ride at Shanghai Disneyland

With the ride being in China . . . there goes any chance of most TRON fans actually being able to visit and check it out. Still very cool news, though.

I wouldn't read too much into the announcement, in terms of this being a sign that Disney must still have big plans for TRON. The design, and construction start date, for this ride had to have been set in motion and committed to years ago. Before Disney started getting cold feet again about a TRON 3 film.

It's not that I doubt Disney will revisit TRON again in the future. Just not in the near-term. In a previous article: I discuss what happened to TRON 3 (aka TRON Ascension), why production was halted, and whether or not there's a chance the film could still be made.

Thanks TheSharkFromJaws on Reddit for the tip, and insidethemagic.net as the original source of this news.

July 15th, 2015 UPDATE: The site insidethemagic.net has another update about the TRON ride coming to Shanghai Disneyland in China. Including a couple of concept videos showing what the completed attraction will look like.

Videos showing TRON attraction in Shanghai Disneyland

The videos reveal that not only will there be a TRON Light Cycle roller coaster (called the TRON Light Cycle Power Run), but also an entire TRON-themed attraction that includes another Flying Scooter or Hurricane type ride with what looks like miniature Light Jets, and an Amphitheater concert/dance arena (ElecTRONica returns?). (Note that the second video has no sound until the 34 second mark.)

Whether a TRON-themed attraction like this (though likely smaller in scale) will be coming to the other Disneyland parks, any time soon, is anyone's guess.

There were earlier rumors that the sequel to TRON Legacy might have begun filming in 2014, which turned out not to be true. Now, a new rumor suggests TRON 3 might finally begin filming in October 2015.

While this lends a bit of further credibility to the rumor  with the site likely thinking they have a strong case that justifies publishing the story  the source quoted in this article is Lindsay Barker, who is the same person that wrote the earlier tweet, which started all this speculation.

Thanks to captainfranklen on Reddit for the tip.

However, we also have an article from the site Badass Digest, where the author claims to have a "trusted source" that TRON 3 has been greenlit and Joseph Kosinski is indeed returning as director.

Thanks to @Employee_427 (aka Neo) on Twitter for sending me the news about the Badass Digest story.

And now Slashfilm has posted an article, seemingly corroborating Badass Digest's "source" that TRON 3 is a go, and Kosinski is returning. They also mention that they're reaching out to Disney for an official statement.

I also suggest everyone reads spillwaybrain's article for some more in-depth analysis on the rumor, and why it should be treated with cautious optimism.

April 8th, 2015 UPDATE:The Hollywood Reporter states that both Garrett Hedlund (Sam Flynn) and Olivia Wilde (Quorra), will be returning for TRON 3 aka TRON Ascension.

This isn't surprising at all, because both were under contract for another sequel, anyway. So it's almost non-news. However, you could argue that this tacitly confirms the next sequel has been greenlit. (Or else, this announcement would not have been made.)

Still no official statement or press release about a greenlight, direct from Disney, though. In fact, today (April 8th, 2015) Bruce Boxleitner  TRON himself  stated that he still has not heard from Disney that TRON 3 has officially been greenlit.

Yet, Entertainment Weekly now claims they have confirmed that TRON 3 has indeed been greenlit. The article also speculates that the film will not be released until 2017, at the earliest. (By the way, ignore the other "rumored" TRON 3 titles  other than TRON Ascension  in the article. The author is just messing with the reader, and having a laugh.)

Who to believe? Well, I'd still like to see a direct quote or press release from Disney, before I finally commit to the belief that the film is moving ahead, in the way that all these rumors have stated. It's not that I doubt a TRON 3 is coming. But the exact details, of what has been "leaked" so far, may not be entirely accurate.

Thanks to UnitedTronArmy on Twitter for the all the news updates today!

April 20th, 2015 UPDATE:Collider.com has an interview with Olivia Wilde (Quorra), who states she's "heard" that TRON 3 aka TRON Ascension is meant to begin filming in October 2015. But when you watch the video of her being interviewed, that accompanies the article, it's clear she's not sure if that's actually going to be the case.

So, at least as far as Wilde is concerned, the greenlighting of TRON 3 is still unconfirmed. (Unless she's under a gag order, otherwise known as NDA.) We only have Entertainment Weekly's word to go on, regarding TRON 3 actually being greenlit.

Part of the headline for the Collider.com article states: "Olivia Wilde Says Story Follows Quorra in the Real World". Yet, when you read the article and watch the video, this is actually not stated anywhere. It's merely implied. Though, an earlier rumor also mentioned that more of TRON 3 would be taking place in the real world, versus TRON Legacy. Which I, personally, am not enthused about if true.

It's looking more and more likely, that the greenlighting of TRON 3 won't officially be announced until San Diego Comicon 2015 in July, or the upcoming D23 Expo 2015 in August.

Thanks to Mr-Wilde on Reddit for the tip.

May 29th, 2015 UPDATE: Fans' hopes of a TRON 3 sequel coming any time soon, may just have been dashed. According to the Hollywood Reporter, Disney has canceled any immediate plans to produce another TRON sequel. (The THR article also states that Disney was interested in adding Jared Leto to the cast, which is the first I've heard of this.)

I did warn everyone, that Disney never officially stated a TRON 3 was in production. It was mostly (possibly educated) speculation on the part of many entertainment news sites. There apparently was some prep work being done, to begin filming a sequel, but it was all still in the very early stages. Definitely no substantial pre-production going on.

Looks like we'll have to wait at least another year or two, for the film to be taken off the backburner again. For the immediate future, perhaps all we can expect is a new game or some merchandise. Very disappointing.

May 30th, 2015 UPDATE:Variety has added more details, quoting an unnamed Disney executive (probably Alan Horn) as stating that they couldn't find a spot in their film schedule until 2018, to fit in a TRON 3 release. Which sounds like a weaksauce excuse to me.

On the other hand, someone "familiar with the project" is also quoted as saying that the sequel "could resurface at some point". So, there is still some modicum of hope that TRON 3 will be revived again in a couple of years.

Thanks to Oniell Ford for the tip!

An article on The Wrap adds that Olivia Munn was supposedly in talks to appear in the film, as well. (Again, this is the first I've heard of any additional casting.)

I've done this quick video on the cancellation of TRON 3, again explaining why you might not want to give up hope just yet (based on the "could resurface" quote).

In it, Giorgio Moroder is interviewed, and he states that he's working together with dubstep artist Skrillex, to create five themes for a "new" TRON game. Moroder is famous for his synth-pop tunes from the 70's and 80's, and has composed many soundtracks for films. He's also an idol of the duo Daft Punk, who as you all know, did the soundtrack for the TRON Legacy movie sequel. Which probably explains his involvement with this new project.

I'm going to meet Skrillex next week when I'm back. I'm doing the music for a game for Disney's 'Tron'. We have about five themes, electronic stuff and let's see if he's interested in remixing or re-working one of the songs.

- Giorgio Moroder, in an interview with Robin Murray at Clash Music

I personally find Giorgio Moroder an intriguing choice, and actually am looking forward to what he comes up with. But, Skrillex? Really? I know he's done music for video games, before. But he seems like a rather odd choice to compose music for a TRON game. We'll see, I guess.

A lot of people are getting very excited, believing this to be a big-budget TRON game like TRON Evolution, and TRON 2.0, before it. But, unless a TRON 3 sequel has been secretly greenlit and entered into pre-production, I sincerely doubt that this new game is what people think it is. Disney would not release a big-budget AAA TRON game title out-of-the-blue, like this. Not without the ability to tie it into the marketing of the next TRON sequel, and cross-promote.

No, what's far more likely is one of two possibilities. It's either a low-budget mobile or free-to-play online game, or it's an expansion for Disney Infinity.

These options make far more sense. Disney Games' workforce has been pared back to almost nothing, particularly in terms of actual game development. The only employees working at Disney that are still creating any game title(s), are in their mobile division and those working on Infinity.

Everything else has been, and will be, outsourced to other game developers/publishers. Disney already tried making their own big-budget AAA games, and did rather poorly at it, as I mentioned in a previous article. At this time, Disney is no longer interested in making big-budget games themselves.

They're allowing other, more experienced game companies, to shoulder the burden of development and the financial risk. A good example of this is the new "rebooted" Star Wars: Battlefront, being developed by EA and DICE for Disney. (Which, coincidentally, is being released at the same time Star Wars Episode VII aka The Force Awakens hits theaters. Again, the timing of the game release coincides with the film release. More fuel, to support the theory that a big-budget TRON game won't be done without a movie tie-in to go with it.)

There is also a remote chance, that Moroder and Skrillex could be composing tracks for the upcoming Kingdom Hearts 3 game. Since KH3 will again have a TRON world in it.

While Disney had, or has, almost nothing to do with the development of the Kingdom Hearts titles, they did contribute assets to the TRON world in Kingdom Hearts 2. So they may be doing it again, with KH3. Disney also published and distributed KH2 outside of Japan (specifically North America).

February 21st, 2015 UPDATE: I've created a companion video to go along with this article, that discusses a few things not mentioned here.

TRON 2.0: Killer App Mod v1.1a- Download this "killer app" that adds many new features to, and fixes problems with, the PC version of the TRON 2.0 game! Adds 16:9 and 16:10 widescreen support, and Français/Deutsch/Italiano/Español language support to the previously English only Unofficial v1.042 Patch. Also fixes broken Multiplayer on both the CD/DVD and Steam versions of TRON 2.0.

TRON 2.0 Mac OSX 10.4 Patch- Download this new installer to help fix the problem where the game won't install on OSX 10.4 (Tiger), or won't accept your serial number (CD key). Go HERE for a workaround that allows the game to run on OSX 10.5 (Leopard) or later.